Inside South Africa’s two most exceptionally fabulous hotels February 4, 2026 Cape Town and the surrounding winelands are a clever choice for a start of year escape. Whilst London languishes in grey drizzle, South Africa glows in late summer sunshine. While there are plenty of great restaurants and wineries to visit across the country, an alternative option is to bunker down in the best hotels: here [...]
Top London restaurants to visit in January 2026 January 19, 2026 Despite record restaurant closures in the capital, brave souls continue to open new ones. But as tempting as it is to visit the latest hotspot or search for new trends you should never ignore the iconic restaurants in our city. Some classic London favourites I have visited recently include The Maine, Bob Bob Ricard City, [...]
Why Sartoria Launceston Place is THE restaurant this Christmas December 11, 2025 The recent budget added over £3bn of further costs to the restaurant sector each year. Meanwhile, Jamie Oliver announced a return to the London restaurant scene with his ‘Italian’ brand – it’s been a challenging couple of weeks… More positively, the majority of London restaurants are full this week and my Evolv Collection of venues [...]
Sartoria opens in Kensington, plus the best London restaurants to visit November 12, 2025 Last week, we at Evolv opened our new restaurant Sartoria at Launceston Place in Kensington. A Sir Terence Conran masterpiece and favourite of Princess Diana, I hope both would have been proud of my attempt to recreate this beloved local restaurant, which takes the style of Savile Row, injects some Milanese flair, and comes together [...]
Good luck to my fellow Toast the City award nominees! October 21, 2025 It is the day of City AM’s Toast the City Awards, celebrating the hospitality and placemaking that makes the Square Mile great. I could not be more proud to be attending, as both a judge and a nominee. I would like to reach out ahead of the event to wish all the best to everyone [...]
A French city break with amazing food, wine and hotels September 17, 2025 Our food columnist and restaurateur Martin Williams takes a city break to Limoges in south-west France Famous for its AOP-protected cattle, veal and lamb, along with the only apple to enjoy AOP status, the city is of Limoges is not just known for its food: it is renowned for producing some of the finest porcelain [...]
Eat, Drink, Sleep, Repeat: The best London and New York restaurants August 20, 2025 Our Toast the City judge Martin Williams gives his bi-weekly opinion on all things dining. This week he splits his time between London and New York. There has been a good amount of excitement in the hospitality sector as of late, with JKS and Dishoom both heading to America on expansion trails. Last weekend I, [...]
Eat, Drink, Sleep, Repeat: Kudu, Kanpai Classic and Bob Bob Ricard July 30, 2025 London is a gastronomic cornucopia, a city blessed with uniquely diverse cuisines and dining styles. From Michelin-level fine dining to street food, we can proudly boast the finest restaurants from across the globe. This week alone I visited South Africa (in Peckham), Japan (in Soho) and France (Bob Bob Ricard in the Leadenhall Building). Here’s [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best summer restaurants in London July 17, 2025 It has been a busy fortnight for the Bluebird brand I oversee as CEO of the Evolv Collection. In our Liverpool Street South Place Hotel, we launched the Bluebird Club, while at Silverstone we entertained drivers, celebrities and musicians with our trackside Bluebird Backstage lounge. And over in Chelsea, we have been the unofficial Wimbledon [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: Foodie delights in Dubai June 25, 2025 Martin Williams is one of the judges for our first Toast the City awards. Here he tells us about his recent trip to the gastronomic paradise of ever-sunny Dubai. The Serpentine Summer Party never disappoints. After a wonderful lunch at Petrus, I found myself enjoying Mujen Sochu Cocktails, created by the bar legend Tato Giovannoni, who [...]
